Rennard, DeCosey have on-court reunion in Philly

The Liacouras Center was the place to be on Wednesday night for any Greater Middlesex Conference hoops fan as two of the conference’s most successful alums in recent memory squared off.

Former St. Joseph High School stars Steve Rennard of UPenn and Quenton DeCosey of Temple played against each other for the first time as Rennard’s Quakers traveled to play DeCosey’s Owls in a Philadelphia Big 5 game.

Rennard and DeCosey were part of a Falcons team in high school that won the conference title

[2]Quenton DeCosey (photo: Marlo Williamson)

in 2010 and went an impressive 23-5 before falling to Camden Catholic in the sectional playoffs. While Rennard was the senior leader and four-year point guard on the team, DeCosey was more of a role player, yet turned heads with his dazzling dunks. When Rennard graduated it became DeCosey’s team, and “Q” as most people call him, let everyone know it, guiding the Falcons to back-to-back county titles as well as the school’s first state title last year.

Rennard was excited about the reunion.

“Well I was definitely looking forward to playing Temple just because of the Philadelphia pride stakes, but it was definitely fun playing against Q and seeing an old teammate,” he said.

It was going to be tough for the two to really see a lot of court time together despite Rennard being a regular starter in the Quakers’ backcourt. With DeCosey being just a freshman, despite his impressive performances against Syracuse and Duke, the 6-5 Union native only averages seven minutes a game.

Nevertheless the matchup must have interested the basketball gods as the two met on the court together in the second quarter, with Rennard re-entering the game to face DeCosey, who had been subbed in minutes before. Rennard said that the two made no interaction with one another while on the court as both were more focused on winning.

“Once you step on the court the people warming up on the other basket are no longer your friends,” Rennard said. “Before the game we made eye contact with each other to acknowledge the situation, but it wasn’t until after the game when we were shaking hands that I had to swallow my pride in the loss and let him brag.”

The Owls would pull away late in the game for a 76-69 win as both Rennard and DeCosey finished scoreless. Rennard finished with three assists and two rebounds while DeCosey logged an assist in six minutes played.

“I think we showed some signs of what we’re capable of at times, but we had some defensive lapses and they capitalized on it,” Rennard said. “Still, it was fun being on the court with Q again and seeing how his game has progressed.”

With the former duo only playing against one another for two-and-a-half minutes, next year’s game should draw more attention with Rennard returning to the Quakers backcourt and DeCosey probably starting for the Owls. Who knows how big of a show the two will put on.